Plant for fermenting and storing organic



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p 927 F. KRANTZ ET AL PLANT FOR FERMENTING AND STORING ORGANIC MANURE,FOODSTUFFS, AND THE LIKE Filed Nov. 15, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENToRSTH/TZ K/PMrz INT/5.

Sept; 20, 1927.

KRANTZ ET AL ERMENTING AND STORING ORGANIC FOODS'IUFFS, AND THE LIKEFiled Nov. 15, 1922 PLANT FOR F MANURE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept.20, 1927.

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Farr z KBANTZ, or MUNICHQAN nernnrorrxaanrz, or. BAD-I\TAUHEIM,GERMANY.

r ANT roa FERMENTING AND sronrne ORGANIC MANURE, roonsrurrs, AND THELIKE.

Application filed November 15, 1922, Seria1 No. 601,187, and in GermanyNovember 15, 1921.

, 'This invention relates to improvements of plants for fermenting andstoring organic manure, food stuffs and the like. I .The fermentationchambers 'and silos 5 which are frequently used in agriculture presentnumerous difficulties, especially as regards uniform controlling of thefermenting process, which difficulties increase and become very seriousas soon as the quantity of the material to be fermented and consequentlythe space required'by'the same exceeds a certain limi Theprincipalobject of this invention is to provide anew and improved plant forcarrying on the fermentation process, which plant is constructed to.avoid the difiiculties in the former constructions and to enable theplant to be constructed at a-compara tively small initial "expense,while allowing in the quantities of the material to be treated.

A further object is toprovide a new im-' Inorder thatthe invention maybe clearly understood, we will proceed to describe the same withreference to the forms of construction shown in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein 1 Fig. 1 is apersp'ective'view of the plant. Figs. 2,3 and l respectively illustrate diagrammatically the charging andputting I up of a plant, the emptying of theplant at the rear end andthe charging of the same at the other end, and the putting up of a newplant atione end whilst the old plant is being emptied at the other end.

Theencasing of the material to be fermented (Fig. 1) for putting thesame into proper shape, for preventing losses and for shutting the sameoff toward the outside, is effected by constructing outer movable wallelements 1 which can be put in place singly before the material isfilled in and which can be removed singly after the material has beenfilled in.

A larger'plant is preferably subdivided into cells 3 of comparativelysmall section by partitions 2, adapted-to be inserted and removedseparately. Each cell can be charged separately with the material to begreater limits with; respect to the variation fermented. The partitionswhich serve to separate the material brought in form the spacedesignedfor adjacent cells to be ing to the progressive filling thereof, the

cell which is being charged permitting the further successive removal ofthe units from below upwardly in accordance with th progressive chargingof the plant.

The plankings are held by. removable parts, for instance, posts 6mounted in stepbearings 5, by transverse beams? and by stays 8 whichserve also to'intercept the lateral pressure exerted by the material; Inaddition to the posts and stays, or as substitute for the same, wirebracings 9 could be .used, which can be arranged at. any height and inany direction. The posts can be utilized at the same time for supportingthe roof and the means for charging the material into the plant and saidposts as well as the stays can be constructed as framework.

As the elements and the holding devices need to be erected only to suchan extent as required by the quantity of the material to be encased, andas they can be removed if no longer wanted, the widest facilities existfor thecharging and removal as regards place, extent and direction.selection is, not to mention other general advantages, of decisiveimportance for the systematic fermentation of very large continuouslyaccruing quantities of material, for instance, of organic manure. In thecourse of charging of the total plant, a considerable part of theelements 1 and holding devices may be released for repeated use, as soonas sufiicient adjacent cells have been charged. The charging or fillingof an adjacent cell provides sufficient security or bracings for thematerial in the cell from which the partitions have been removed, so asto prevent the material in the first charged cell from slippinglaterally. Fur- This liberty of 5 thermore, when the material is settledsufficiently to form a substantial coherent mass, the tendency tolaterally slipping is no longer present, and therefore, at such time,the holding devices may be removed.

Figsr2, 3 and t show, by way of example,

I A Whilst fresh material is added in the direetiion B (Fig. 3). Afterthe charging of the material has been terminated at B it begins again atA,the fermented material .stillbeing removed in the direction toward B(Fig. 4,). At the point where fermented material is taken off theplankings and hold ing' devices are removed so that vehicles can be:brought closely to the point at which the; fermented material (which hassettled and stands like peat) is being out off, to transport the same.The cutting off is carried out in steps like the charging, thesecnttingofi' steps being obviously not limited to the area of thefermenting cells and being preferablym-ade as steep as the solidity ofthe fermenting material permits.

In short the whole plant is being operated a. proceeding way. As organicmanure. forinstance, is produced fromone end of the year to the otherbut is used only at determined periods after it has been stored for longtime, this means an extraordinarily great saving of material in comarison with the stationary fermenting 01ambers, this saving being quiteas important for the agricultural management as the facility oftransport, which is not impeded by any stationary devices, and the factthat the free part of the ground is always ready to be used for theother purpose (for instanoe for parking vehicles and machines in thefarmyard where generally there is a great lack of space,'see (Fig. 2).As the material to be fermented, especially organic manure, mustfrequently be stored for a long time, it is necessary to prevent damageto the material near the outer walls, and therefore the outerwalls arepreferably sheathed with light protective sheathing arranged at aconvenient interval from the outer surface of the manure, this materialbeing filled with a convenient insulating material, for instance, sawdust, peat dust and the like.

These rotective sheathin 's are removable to form walls. each completeunit so formed including a plurality of said wall units one aboveanother, and removable elements cooperating with said posts forretaining said wall units in position, said posts and retaining elementsbeing constructed and arranged to permit the removal of the individualwall units in any desired order. r

2. An apparatus for the fermentation and subsequent storage of manure,food stuffs and the like, which apparatus consists of a plurality ofupright posts remov'able wall units adapted to cooperate: with saidposts to form Walls, each complete unit so formed including a pluralityof said'wall units .one above another, and removableelements co=operating with said posts for retaining said wall units in position,said posts and retaining elements being constructed and arranged topermitthe removal of the'individualwa-ll 7 units in any desired order,and said apparatus being subdivided into cells by parti tions which areconstructed, of individual w all uni-ts ofthe same nature and held inplace in the same manner as the aforermens tioned wall units.

In testimony whereof we have affixed our 7 signatures.

FRITZ KRANTZ.

HEINRICH KRANTZ.

